


Episode Analysis: "Space Fall" (meta)

by Natasha



Category: Blake's 7
Genre: Gen, Meta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-29
Updated: 2017-08-29
Packaged: 2018-12-21 07:35:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11939364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Natasha/pseuds/Natasha
Summary: Some thoughts on the first appearance of the Liberator, good men who do nothing, and that seminal discussion in the computer room.





	Episode Analysis: "Space Fall" (meta)

1.

_Space Fall_ is the first episode in which the Liberator appears, and its first appearance on screen is possibly one of the most iconic and memorable moments in the series. In terms of storyline and episode structure, this is also the moment of plot twist, when our heroes are given a second chance to escape from the prison ship London. Prior to that everything seemed hopeless: Blake's attempt at taking over the London failed, and he, Avon and Jenna were most likely awaiting execution. Is the Liberator, then, a _Deus ex machina_ – do we perceive its arrival as a kind of "grafted" happy ending, a positive outcome of a situation that wasn't supposed to have any?

I think that what enables us to still view the coming of the Liberator as somehow logical and integrated into the storyline is the fact that it is endowed with a great deal of symbolism. To paraphrase Boromir from _The Lord of the Rings_ , the Liberator is a gift to the enemies of the Federation. It's not just technologically superior to anything the Federation has built, but also supplied with a room full of treasure, a room full of clothes and enough food to last for a thousand years – motifs which remind one of myths and fairy-tales. It is a commonplace in such tales that the hero is given some kind of magical artefact to aid him in his quest, which is why it doesn't come as a surprise to us in a Sci-Fi scenario, either.

There is also a sense in which the Liberator comes as a reward for proper moral conduct. When Blake et al. take hold of the computer room, their original demand is that the London should change its course and take the prisoners to the nearest habitable planet. If Blake had been ruthless and let Raiker kill all the hostages, the London crew would have lost all their bargaining power and would have been forced to meet that demand. Instead, Blake surrenders to save lives, so the ship doesn't change its course. Blake's decision may seem like a disaster (Avon tells him, "You're throwing away our only chance!") but as its unforeseeable consequence it leads to rendezvous with the Liberator.

Finally, there is a leitmotif in the series which may be referred to as "Blake's incredible luck" (as Servalan points out in _SLD_ : "He is not invulnerable, nor is he superhuman. He is just a man who has been extremely lucky... so far.") Obtaining the Liberator may be regarded as the first of many instances of this strange Blakean luck. Still, I wonder whether Servalan is right in her assessment and whether "luck" is actually the right word for it. One shouldn't forget, after all, that when the London crew members try to board the Liberator they encounter a deadly defence mechanism. The same mechanism could have killed Blake, Jenna and Avon as well: Blake manages to destroy it and in that way transform something that was meant to be a death trap into a gain. It seems that the mixture of Blake's optimism, stubbornness and single-minded devotion to his revolutionary goals somehow enables him to create second chances in a vacuum – even when, as Avon says, everyone else is convinced that "there won't be a next time".

2.

While Travis is generally recognized as Blake's nemesis, in the course of the series Blake also encounters other guest-star villains who contribute to the overall impression that the Federation is corrupt and oppressive, producing in its ranks almost as a norm individuals who recklessly misuse their official power. Raiker in _Space Fall_ ,  Kommissar in _Horizon_ or Provine in _Countdown_ are some of them. Raiker's behaviour is also a good example of how the series conceptualizes evil: its most extreme instances are those when acts of evil are committed even though any possible justification for them (however lame) has ceased to exist. Even after Artix informs him that Blake has surrendered, Raiker still kills another prisoner. A similar motif appears in _Pressure Point_ where Servalan injects Kasabi with the third dose of drug (which turns out to be lethal) even though she has already obtained all the information. Travis also routinely wipes out rebel groups in spite of the fact that they have surrendered and ceased to represent a threat.

A well-known quote by Edmund Burke says, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." In _Space Fall_ , the good man who does nothing is Leylan. We see him protesting when Dainer or Raiker kill unarmed prisoners or when Jenna is harassed, but his protests are just verbal and largely ineffective. What makes his passivity even more problematic is the fact that he is the captain and should normally be in charge of everything that is going on aboard his ship. It's no wonder he gets upset when Blake reminds him of his duties and demands that Leylan write a report on Raiker's crimes. In terms of Burke's quote, Blake is a good man who does everything he can – even at great personal risk – to prevent the triumph of evil.

3.

The conversation in the computer room is an occasion for us to find out not only about the main characters' plans for the future but also about their respective world views. This is one of the rare opportunities Blake is given in the series to explain his reasons for struggle. Someone on FB recently suggested a parallel between Blake and Robb Stark (from the series _Game of Thrones_ ). But the crucial difference is exactly in their motives: while Robb is generally perceived as a positive character, and similar to Blake in so far as he starts a rebellion against a vicious and corrupt ruler, practically all of his motives are personal. Robb fights to free his sister and avenge his father, and eventually he also loses because he is too focused on his personal life (he gets married and starts a family in the middle of a war). As for Blake, it is true that he has personal grievances against the Federation, but the reasons he quotes for fighting are impersonal and general.

What kind of social order is Blake fighting for? One possible way to define a class society is to say that it is characterized by an unequal distribution of power (economic, political or other). Interestingly, Blake does not say that he wants to see power distributed equally. Instead, he says that he needs to fight until power is "back with the honest man". What exactly does it mean? Is Blake fighting just to put an end to crime and corruption and re-establish the rule of law? Or to dismantle the empire and facilitate decolonization and self-determination of individual worlds? Or is he also fighting for the thorough reconstruction of the Federation's rigid class system?

When Avon says he wants to become so rich that no one can touch him, Blake reacts by asking, "And the rest?" (Meaning, "Do you not care what will happen to the rest of the prisoners when we disembark?" Or, more generally, "What about the rest of humanity?") The question echoes the one he asked when Bran Foster told him about his first arrest: "What happened to the others?" This concern for others is one of the defining features of Blake's character. It reminds me of the concept of _ubuntu_ in the South African Nguni languages. Desmond Tutu argues that _ubuntu_ cannot be translated into a Western language by using a single equivalent word. Instead he explains that the term means, "My humanity is caught up, is inextricably bound up, in yours... We belong in a bundle of life... A person is a person through other persons."

I find it a bit objectionable (not to be blamed on Blake or Avon, but on the scriptwriters) that in the computer-room scene Jenna isn't given an opportunity to discuss _her_ world-view or _her_ plans for the future. Avon's and Blake's attitudes are presented here as two magnetic poles and it appears that all Jenna can do is choose whether she will be pulled towards one or towards the other.  Avon is shocked by her tacit expression of support and belief in Blake's vision ("Some dreams are worth having"). However, in the episodes to follow we find out that Blake is not the first revolutionary or idealist that Jenna has met. Before Blake, Jenna knew Avalon, which might imply that at least some of her free-trading jobs brought her in touch with the rebellion. She was either involved in transporting Avalon and other rebels, or in smuggling weapons for them, and we can assume that she didn't do it just for profit but also because she was a sympathizer of their struggle. We also know that she refused to run a cargo of drugs for Largo (for ethical reasons, not because of the risk), which actually led to her arrest. These episodes from Jenna's past point to her moral integrity and sense of justice, and explain why she is capable of believing in Blake's cause; in short, I think Jenna already has an idealistic streak, it just becomes more prominent through interaction with Blake.


End file.
